Defending the Frontlines 7/14/26

Defending the Frontlines: Climate Justice and the Criminalization of Dissent
Why should an environmental disaster happening on the other side of the world matter to a meetinghouse in Ohio, a farmer in California, or an activist in Ontario? For decades, international advocate Harjeet Singh has walked the global frontlines and advocated in the halls of power, grounded in a deeply held spiritual commitment to universal well-being and justice. While internationally, frontline movements have won historic legal breakthroughs in the UN and International Court of Justice, domestically, a right-wing populist backlash is metastasizing around the world. From the United Nations Climate Negotiations to back home in India, where Harjeet himself recently faced heavy-handed raids and legal retaliation for his advocacy, reactionary governments and corporations are weaponizing economic laws to criminalize peaceful dissent.

This webinar is a direct call to action for Friends across North America to bridge the gap between global policy and local witness. As Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) takes up the mantle of the "Make Polluters Pay" initiative here in North America, Harjeet will pull back the curtain on how international advocacy can directly fuel grassroots organizing. He will share firsthand insights from his role as a Strategic Advisor to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative - fresh off the historic multilateral breakthroughs at the Santa Marta transition conference - and his leadership as the Global Convenor of the Fill The Fund campaign. This session will connect the dots between massive global fossil fuel extraction and the localized environmental racism and climate impacts affecting North American communities today. Attendees will walk away with a clear roadmap for how Friends across the states can get actively involved and how to leverage local faith communities and power structures enforcing climate imperialism to advocate and work in solidarity with frontline communities all over the world.

Bio
Harjeet Singh is a globally recognized climate activist, interfaith Sikh social justice advocate, and speaker whose tireless work is deeply informed by a spiritual commitment to equity and universal well-being. He currently serves as the Global Convenor for the Fill The Fund campaign and as a Strategic Advisor to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, where he recently helped steer historic multilateral work at the Santa Marta "Transition Away" conference. With decades of international leadership experience Harjeet has used his voice to speak out, organize, and advocate for frontline communities. As a co-founder of the social enterprise Satat Sampada, he and his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, also actively practice what they preach by promoting sustainable environmental and organic farming practices.